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Crush Eleven, the upscale-casual restaurant that introduced its rustic urban fare to Cocoa Village in 2013, is moving to downtown Melbourne.

Crush will trade its 11 Riverside Drive, Cocoa, digs for the historic Flatiron Building recently vacated by The Firehouse Restaurant and Lounge. The steakhouse closed on Aug. 15, telling customers on its Facebook page that it will reopen in 2018 in the Eau Gallie Arts District.

"We're going to be super sad to leave Cocoa Village," said Mona Foy, who owns Crush Eleven with her husband John. "We've made so many friends there. But we've got a really good customer base in Melbourne as well."

The move should happen in mid-November. Foy said they plan to keep the Cocoa Village restaurant open until the day before the Melbourne location opens so no one has to miss a day of work.

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Crush Eleven opened at 11 Riverside Drive in Cocoa Village in 2013.(Photo: Suzy Fleming Leonard/FLORIDA TODAY)

Emma Kirkpatrick, vice president of the Historic Cocoa Village Association and manager of Ossorio Bakery & Cafe said the village will miss Crush.

"They've been a huge asset to the community and filled a niche we didn't have down here," she said. "It's going to be really sad to see them gone."

In the past four years, Crush has earned a reputation for its friendly, knowledgeable service staff; fresh, unique dishes; boutique wine list and craft cocktails.

Crush Eleven should do well in downtown, she said. She sees Arocena's ability to recruit one of the best restaurants in the county to fill the Flatiron vacancy as a testament to the momentum that's building in the area.

"We’re so stoked," she said. "That building deserves a restaurant like that."

Mona and John Foy also own The Fat Snook, a popular seafood restaurant in Cocoa Beach.

Plans were announced last year to move the intimate restaurant at 2464 S. Atlantic Ave., which has space for only 66 diners, into the larger downtown Cocoa Beach bungalow property former occupied by the Mango Tree at 118 N. Atlantic Ave.

The Foys bought the Mango Tree property in October 2016 and began renovations, only to discover more structural issues than could be repaired in a cost-effective way.

"We tried," she said. "We both wanted to maintain as much of that building as we could."

What originally was to be a few months of renovation has turned into demolition and rebuilding.

"It's like peeling an onion," Mona Foy said. "Take one layer off, and reveal another layer of problems."

It's hard to say when the move will take place. Plans have been drawn up and submitted to the city, she said. Once the current building has been taken down, construction on a new place will begin.

"We want to build with a cottage feeling so it will fit into that Cottage Row," Foy said, "but still have kind of a modern vibe about it, too. We're calling it an urban cottage."